they look like a doctor who monster!

What does this say about the mascots or Doctor Who?

lets not dwell on SFB eh? I think he has been given a wrap over the knuckles here. This whole thread is about showing empathy and support for Matt, after having made such a hard choice. Never easy, guilt inducing stuff, but ultimately the right thing to do for obviously a much loved part of the family.

Dogs are the best pals, and losing one in ay situation is horrible.

Hope you feel better soon Matt et al.

since when was a Harley ever ridden in serious filth?

My heart felt condolences go out to Matt, and all at ST towers. I don't know what it is about Jack Russells but their character always seems way bigger then their actual size.

I have lasting memories of waiting patiently on top of a rabbit warren in the middle of the New Forest, listening to muffled growling and barking from deep underground, as our Jack Russell set the bunnies straight on squatters rights in his back yard.

Good memories…

What are you going to get next? Irish Wolf hound?

I brought 2 other riders, missed the right car park and we set off in pursuit at 10:40 only to meet another riding club. Micheldever woods had a bluebell carpet akin to the one I saw in dartmoor last spring. Smurfs in a field of Bly tak andall that. Sorry not to have made it. Looking forward to the next meet in the not too distant future?

Don't worry about weather. On the chalk it just makes for a good face mask, no sand or grit, so your gears will be fine. Nothing like the grinding paste found in the surrey hills or swinley…..some people pay a fortune to have their faces covered in this stuff!!!

Will there cake and tea stop?

Can't have ride without cake and tea stop!

+4 lib dem

lol

Castlerigg hall farm. Has a cafe for brekkie, a pub, and a nice walk down to Keswick. Greta views down onto Derwent water, but never likely to get wet tent …aka CC site on the shore.

Also bike friendly, with access to boiler room to dry wet clobber

me 😀

You are either adding too much sugar, which is there to feed the yeast, or not enough salt, which is there to control the yeast.

count me in! Let me know if I can be of any help as a sweeper, as I'm likely to be at the back 😳

Quick thing…Rain man, or the person the book was based upon isn't autistic, actually had a birth complication and the results were similar to autism, but not. Just so you know. Accuracy is everything Eh?

My son is Autistic, and I spend my time watching the channel four show, Autistic and stage struck, wondering which of the 12 kids are most like my son. Actually, I see parts of his traits in almost all of them. Very emotional to watch the show, and see them respond so well to such a fabulous group activity. Hope springs eternal and all that…

TDM and tiger is Grp 13, and the Fazer is 12, so not too much difference in cost. All expensive 😯

thanks SP. I never intend to drive through London, far too scary!

Modern training is great, as it makes you very aware of the dangers. But the thrill of being on a bike, even at legal speeds, is excellent!

Ridesure are a great school!

why?

I'm not sure which bike, kind of depends how the never never goes, as nobody wanted to buy my Nomad 🙁

Do it, its worth every penny. The shock is plusher, gets less fussed about multiple hits and works so well its almost annoying it didn't work like that when you first bought it from Fox. Let TFT know your weight and which bike and wait a couple of days before you grin like a cheshire cat

Thanks TJ

if your brains were made of rubber, you wouldn't have enough to make a flip flop for a one legged budgie!

wheel balance is a good point! I wonder if there any high speed versions?

but back in the day, you'd get a ruddy nurse grab the wounded limb, tell you to bend over, slap you with a tetanus shot and tell ou not to be so stupid next time.

It's all I need, as I have no idea where te doggy mouth has been prior to giving me a nip!

Fair point, but then my car tyres would be pretty close to past it by then as well. so I double the tyre cost, it still works out better value for money than the car.

Oh the joys of justifying the expense.

Who makes the best motorway tyres? As in a hard centre compound tyre?

in terms of not saving money….

20k miles a year travelled for work purposes.

Roughly £4000 for the car fuel, based on my car
Tiger would be £2300! My car requires 4 new tyres when they're changed, which is a minimum if £400 each time, where as the bike would be £300 for the same distance, which would be roughly 2 rears and 1 front. I can reduce the insurance cost on the car, which will be affected this year, due to vandalism.

And I arrive at work like 😀 and not 👿

In regards to doing the commute in the car before riding it on a bike. I've done that for the last 5 years!

Winter riding will test my resolve, but to be honest I will most likely choose the car, as it's a subaru outback, so deals with ice and snow really rather well, plus I'm a southern flat lander, so we hardly ever get anything worse than rain.

I have already got my riding kit and its all HG gortex and lovely. Can't imagine I will ever get cold in that gear!

Cheers for ll your help. TJ, I know you like your scooters, but I will never buy one of those. Just not me.

more over, the Arpilia Shiver, is aimed squarely at beginners, according to their own gumpf, which is a 750cc twin, which outputs 95bhp. So as both the VFR and the Tiger 955i are in the same range, I remain confused. I am 6ft and Heavy, and don't want to be bunched up into a ball on a midweight bike that was never designed with a rider like me in mind. I also have no intent of getting my knee down, and I wish to keep my license intact too.

The more I look into it, the harder the choice appears, as I want a quality bike, that won't rust at the first sign of rain, and has bullet proof reputation. Hence the vfr choice, and the tiger.

It remains a mystery……

R1 looks lovely, but I'm not really into that stylie. Just saw the BMW F650cs and can't quite decide if its a great idea, or hit al the branches of the ugly tree on the way down.

Has nobody made a mid weight bike that isn't a race replica but has a full fairing?

Thanks Ian

I will definitely buy that book too.

Hence my resistance to the speed four, which would otherwise be a great choice I think?

I always thought the CBR 600F and the Thundercat were a little small. (I'm 6ft). Also the lights are worse than the VFR for sure.

A bigger bike may be more powerful, but surely it's down to how I ride it? This is my MLC don't forget!

a) Whats life without a little risk?
b) actually, no, it could get me out of L code zone, as the car is a tad thirsty…long story
c) I would disagree, on the basis it takes 50 mins on a good day in the car, but in peak rush hour and other usual M25 way, I regularly sit in a tin can for over 2.5 hours for the same journey, and even if I crawl along in the jams on a bike, I will make up an hour at least.
d) No worse than going for a muddy winter mtb ride in the right clobber. Have shower at the office too

also, never said I wouldn't have the car as a standby, if it really looks gopping that day.

OK, so what smaller bikes can do motorways?

I had a mate who rode everywhere on his knackered old fizzy. It came with mole grips as a standard, to pull out the baffle so he could bang the soot out of it, as his carb was just a little bit shagged. What a great noise they made!

CBT on saturday (damn my mum for not letting me do my bike test when I was 18)! MLC in full swing! Trying to make up my mind on a first big bike….happy days

not so worried about ridiculous parking issues, but I have been the victim of council stupidity, where their business parking, and sign were obscured, and the simple fact that I am not telepathic, require to park my car on the street in London, and have already paid for a permit, I get no warm cuddly feeling from allowing these muppets the opportunity to fine me more, for what is an innocent mistake!

Its like musical chairs, without the fun, and a fine, and a really irate motorist/car owner….when paying for rail or other transport would mean I have to be paid the same amount as Richard Branson to commute.

This is a really bad idea, as the innocent/conforming citizen will suffer a lot more than those that disregard the rules.

The only bikes that ever make me jump are to be found in the Surrey hills in the summer. They're green laning, yet you never see them, I've heard them on winterfold, whilst riding up Holmbury!

I love bikes, just not the t##t that screams up past my house at about 100mph in 2nd gear in a suburban 40 limit! 👿

Hmmm, sticky wicket!

I am suffering from too many bikes, and not enough cash! Hence sale. Plus I have another SC for more XC duties, which as I get older, seems to suit me better.

I have a Nomad available to buy, and the price is negotiable. It would be perfect!

Thinner usually ends up with me having to get new rims, as I weigh a bit 😯

Lightweight 😀

have you finished your scientific novel yet?

mulletus,

I am a fat git, and walked up some hills, and fell asleep on others! 😯

We got te train to eastbourne, from Winch, which was about an hour and a half with one stop in Clapham. Funny thing was, we were on the last run ( train) with all the lads wobbling their way home, and quite few ended up in eastbourne, fast asleep!